Transfer meat mixture into prepared pan. Top with mashed sweet potatoes, covering completely. Drag the tines of a fork across the surface of the potatoes to slightly rough up the surface. Bake 30-35 minutes until bubbling and potatoes start to brown. Allow to stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally until beef is almost tender. Add potatoes cook 25-30 minutes until potatoes and beef are both fork tender. Return stew to a boil. Mix cornstarch and water together; whisk into stew to thicken. Adjust seasoning; remove bay leaves and thyme stems. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley, if desired.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk, mix with a fork until it just comes together.

Turn out on flour surface; knead gently 3-4 times; pat into a rectangle. Divide into 8 equal piece. Gently form into rounds and transfer to prepared pan leaving at least 2-inches between each loaf. Using a sharp knife, score an X in the center of each loaf. Bake 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Rainbow Fruit Skewers with Golden Fruit Dip

Rainbow Fruit Skewers with Golden Fruit Dip

Fresh fruit skewered in rainbow color order served up with a golden fruit dip makes a wholesome but festive St. Patrick’s Day treat.

Ingredients:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

¾ cup marshmallow fluff

3 Tbsp. lemon curd

Yellow food coloring, if desired

12 each (10-inch) bamboo skewers

12 each large red grapes

12 each (1-inch) pieces mango

24 each blueberries

3 each kiwi, peeled and cut into quarters

12 each (1-inch) pieces pineapple

12 each (1-inch) pieces cantaloupe

12 each strawberries, stems removed

Directions:

In a bowl mix together cream cheese, fluff and lemon curd. Add yellow food coloring if desired for a more golden color.

For each skewer add 1 grape, 1 piece mango, 2 blueberries, 1 piece kiwi, 1 piece pineapple, 1 piece cantaloupe and 1 strawberry, adjust position so each piece of fruit touches and the tip of the skewer is covered by the strawberry. Serve with fruit dip.

Refrigerate leftovers.

Tip:

To cut down on prep time look for pre-cut pineapple and melon in the produce department. Experiment with different fruit combinations like oranges instead of cantaloupe or honeydew instead of kiwi.

Pot O’Gold Marshmallow Pops

Pot O’Gold Marshmallow Pops

Chocolate dipped marshmallows on a stick topped with gold coins are the treasure at the end of the rainbow.

Ingredients:

8-10 oz. chocolate candy coating

24 ea. (6-inch) treat sticks

24 ea. marshmallows

⅓ cup chocolate frosting

72 ea. yellow candy-coated chocolate candy pieces

24 ea. rainbow gummy candy pieces

Directions:

In a bowl, melt chocolate according to package directions. Dip the tip of each stick in the chocolate and then into each a marshmallow to secure. Dip each marshmallow into the chocolate until completely coated, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Allow chocolate to set.

Place chocolate frosting in a piping bag or plastic bag with a small corner snipped off. Pipe a small amount of frosting around the top edge of the marshmallow and fill in the center. Place 3 chocolate candies on each marshmallow and 1 rainbow candy.

Tip:

To keep marshmallow up right while cooling place sticks in a piece of floral foam or secure through an egg carton or shoe box.

Shamrock Pretzels

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper; set aside. In a bowl melt candy melts according to package directions.

With a fork, dip 1 pretzel stick in candy melts; allowing excess to drain back into the bowl; place on prepared pan. Dip 3 mini twists, allowing excess to drain back into the bowl; place around one end of pretzel stick to form a shamrock shape. Add a small amount of extra candy melt over the seams where the pretzel pieces meet to secure. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Repeat with remaining pretzels. Allow to stand until set.

Complement the sweet kabobs and dip with salty DIY Shamrock Tortilla Chips. It’s as simple as using a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter ( easy find at stores that sell baking equipment, but you can also use a handmade cardstock shamrock stencil and a sharp kitchen knife to trace the shamrocks) to cut out shamrock shapes from flour tortillas. Spray both sides of chips with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with salt. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 375ºF for 8 or so minutes, turning chips over after 4 minutes. Chips are done when lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Guacamole (DIY or store-bought) or salsa verde makes the perfect green dip!

Every party needs a festive punch to accompany the food. Clear punch bowls or pitchers are best for serving. (It’s fun to see the green!) Stir together 2 liters ginger ale and 46 ounces pineapple juice for your St. Paddy’s Day Punch. Adding a scoop or two of lime sherbet to each glass ups the festive, fizzy and fruity feel. The over-21 crowd is welcome to add a splash of vodka for an extra punch. If possible, serve either version in clear glasses that have been rimmed in green sugar and add a green straw for extra decoration.

Kid’s St. Patrick’s Day Fun

Kid’s St. Patrick’s Day Fun

If you have the younger set over to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you can keep them busy and entertained while also teaching them a thing or two about March 17.

Venture beyond pin-the-shamrock-on-the-Leprechaun activities with a bit of science, history and arts-and-crafts. Because busy hands usually belong to hungry kids, you can involve the kiddos in making fun edible St. Paddy’s Day treats, too. Gather your young guests and celebrate the spirit of the Irish with any of these fun projects.

Slime is all the rage with the younger set and it’s an easy DIY.

Things You'll Need:

½ cup water

½ cup (4 oz.) white or clear school glue

Green glitter, food color and/or confetti

1 teaspoon borax powder

1 cup warm water

Large bowl

Spoon

Directions:

In a bowl, stir together ½ cup water and the glue until thoroughly combined.

Stir green décor into the glue mixture.

In another bowl, stir borax into 1 cup warm water until combined.

Stir borax mixture into glue mixture until desired texture.

When ready to store, transfer slime to clean container and cover loosely.

The Science of Rainbows lets your young guests make their own rainbows using everyday ingredients.

Things You'll Need:

6 clear drinking glasses (as deep as the straws are long)

Warm water

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple food colors

Granulated sugar

Clear straws

Directions:

Fill each glass with warm water. Add one food color to each water glass and mix well to create six different colors.

The first of the six glasses will have no added sugar. Stir 1 rounded teaspoon sugar into the second color, 2 rounded teaspoons into the third and so on until stirring 5 rounded teaspoons of sugar into the sixth. For each, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Hold the straw near one end, wrapping four fingers around and placing your thumb over the top opening. To make your Rainbow, lift your thumb off the opening, dunk the lower end of the straw about 1 inch into the non-sugared water. Cap the straw firmly with your thumb, lift it out of the water and dip it quickly into the next (1 teaspoon) solution. Go an inch deeper than you did into the first glass as you want layers of about the same thickness. With the straw in the liquid, lift your thumb but quickly replace it. Lift the straw and you’ll have the first and second colored solutions stacked inside the straw. Continue dipping until you have all six colored solutions inside the straw. In science-y terms, this is considered a “density column of sugar water,” but to your young party-goers, it’s a delightful Sugar Rainbow!

When you’re ready for another, hold the straw over the dish and lift your thumb to empty the straw. Rinse it and make another rainbow.

DIY Tablecloth and Placemats will keep little hands busy while also encouraging their creativity as they learn a few fun facts about St. Paddy’s Day.

Things You'll Need:

Markers, crayons and/or colored pencils

Craft paper roll with enough paper to fit tabletop

Undecorated paper placemats

Directions:

Learn a bit about St. Patrick’s Day legends by researching online or in books. Why is the shamrock a symbol of this holiday? The leprechaun? Why is there a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Share the history of these legends with your young party guests.

Have the kids decorate paper tablecloth or placemats with drawings, puzzles and even games inspired by what they have learned. Encourage them to talk to each other about what they’re drawing.

Rainbow Seeds make a great take-home activity for young ones.

Things You'll Need:

Fruit-flavored bite-size candy

Snack-size resealable plastic food-storage bags

Directions:

Separate candy by color, placing one color in each cup of a muffin pan.

Show your guests a picture of a rainbow, explaining how the colors are always in the same order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

Have them fill their bags with different colored candy. They can imagine the bag’s contents as a seed packet that will “grow” a rainbow!

Leprechaun Wands may not contain true magical powers, but these tasty pretzel snacks will make magic happen just the same!

Indoor St. Patrick’s Day Décor

Indoor St. Patrick’s Day Décor

Deck the halls for your St. Patrick’s Day party, and do it kid-style as your little ones draw, cut, staple, glue and paint their way to festive party décor!

Provide your party-helpers with green construction paper and ask them to cut out same-size strips (draw pencil lines as guide if needed). They can then decorate these strips with St. Patrick’s Day-themed stickers or drawings. Staple the strips together in a simple chain and hang them around the party space.

Kids can also put their shamrock skills to use by making a Shamrock Bouquet. First, use a stencil to cut out 3-4” shamrock shapes from St. Patrick’s Day-style scrapbook paper. The kiddos can attach these paper shamrocks to wooden skewers or pipe cleaners with tape. Place a bundle of these “flowers” in large mason jars, then decorate the jar with ribbons, green buttons and the like.

Mason jars can also be used to Layer a Rainbow: Start by having the kids drop a handful of gold-wrapped candies (chocolate coins or chocolate-covered caramels (Rolos) look especially nice) into an empty 1-quart jar. They can then top the wrapped candies with fruit-flavored bite-size candies, layered by color to resemble a rainbow. Cover and wrap the lid with colored foil or ribbons and use as a centerpiece. Or make as many smaller (1 pint) jars as you have guests and send home as party favors.

Buy a dozen or so mini clay flowerpots and have your young helpers paint the outside of the pots green. When the paint dries, they can tie a black ribbon just below the rim and place a gold sticker “buckle” on the ribbon. Upside-down, these painted flowerpots become Leprechaun hats! If you’re using as party favors, write each guest’s name on the rim of the hat with gold permanent marker.

Stack one of each size paper together, gluing the ends together on one side.

Loop the outside piece over and glue the edge down so you have a teardrop shape with the shorter pieces in the middle.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 five more times to make six teardrops total. Group into three sets of two, gluing the ends together to form three heart shapes.

To make the stem, make two folds on each of the three remaining strips.

For the 12” strip, make a fold mark 5” from the left edge and 5” from the right edge. There will be 2” between the two fold lines and the section between the folds is centered.

For the 10” strip, make one fold mark 4¼” from the left edge and the same distance from the right edge. There will be 1½” between the two fold lines and the section between the folds is centered.

For the 8” strip, make one fold mark 3½” from the left edge and the same distance from the right edge. There will be 1” between the fold lines and the section between them is centered.

Line up the folded strips, shortest on top. Glue ends together to form a 3-D triangular stem.

To assemble, cut out a small cardstock circle and glue each “heart” to the circle so they fan out to form a three-leaf shamrock. Glue stem in place.

Glue both ends of a green ribbon to back of shamrock for hanging.

Even without a patch of four-leaf clovers, you can show your Irish spirit. Plant any green herbs in multiple clay pots spray painted with gold and/or green and you’ll add color to your porch, deck or front or back yard. Your inner artist can embellish the pots further by using paint markers or brushes to draw additional St. Patrick's Day designs when the spray paint dries.

Balloon Rainbows are festive, bright and colorful – perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Buy at least two dozen balloons in the basic rainbow colors. Inflate and tie, then attach them – in rainbow fashion – by their tied end to a surface (garage door or even poster board, which can be hung on a post in your yard) and fly your St. Paddy’s Day colors with pride!

Take your rainbow to its pot of gold by stretching colored streamers at an angle from a deck or windowsill down to the ground. Attach them at ground level so they spread out to look like a rainbow touching down. Set a black cauldron of gold foil-wrapped foam blocks at your rainbow’s end. If you have kids coming over for a party, fill with gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins instead and lead them to the “end of the rainbow” with scavenger hunt clues.